With technological advances over the past decade that has seen many University athletic departments use different platforms in publicizing their programs, the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Sports Information Department was officially re-branded to Athletics Communications, effective July 1, in an announcement by Director of Athletics Bryan Maggard.
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The re-branding from Sports Information to Athletics Communications is part of a growing trend that has seen many collegiate athletic programs change the way they communicate through social media and other platforms.
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"With continued advances in technology, many collegiate athletic programs have utilized different measures to send authentic communication to their fans," Maggard said. "Restructuring from a conventional sports information office to an athletic communications department is more suitable in today's world and will give us the opportunity to tell the story of our student-athletes and athletic program with alumni, fans and potential students."
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Louisiana has established itself as the leader in the area of social media among Sun Belt Conference schools with over 75,000 likes on Facebook (@RaginCajunsAthletics) and over 52,000 followers on Twitter (@ULRaginCajuns). The Ragin' Cajuns YouTube channel has recorded nearly 350,000 views with additional information accessible through such social media platforms as SnapChat and Instagram.
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"The role of athletics communications has evolved dramatically over the years from the traditional format that was mainly keeping statistics and recording history," Director of Athletics Communications Matt Sullivan said. "With the advances in social media along with the ability to use other digital platforms, we are able to better enhance the Ragin' Cajuns brand with our fans and tell the story of our student-athletes."